Process for making waterproof materials and coatings.



J. F. RYAN. PROCESS FOR MAKING WATERPROOF MATERIALS AND commas.

APPLICATION FILED JANJA, 1911.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. F. RYAN. A PROCESS FOR MAKING WATERPROOF MATERIALS AND COATINGS.

APPLICATION FILED 111111.14, 1911.

Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

To all whom it may concern.

- ganic adhesive surfaces to the manufacturing waterproof materials by JOHN F. RYAN, OF WINTHROP, MASSACHUSETTS. PROCESS FOR MAKING WATERPROOF MATERIALS AND COATINGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

1,132,687. Patented Mar. 23, 1915.

Application filed January 14, 1911. Serial No. 602,588.

proofing action of the jet of formaldehyde gas forcibly projected upon the moist .coating of the sheet being practically instantaneous so that the Web of material can be moved along with a continuous rapid movement to be subsequently dried by suitable drying means at a further adjacent station. It is to be observed that in the practice of my invention not only is it practicable for the first time to waterproof thin and delie5 cate coated paper by the formaldehyde process, since such papers are not strong enough to stand a subsequent moistening after coating as would be required for treatment by formaldehyde solution or vapor, but with my improved sequence of operations the formaldehyde treating and coating operations are combined in such a way that not .only is there no separate moistening of the paper for the formaldehyde treatment required, but such treatment actually contributes to the'drying out and hardening of the paper coating after the coating operation, making the coating and waterproofing steps substantially component parts of a single unitary operation for the production of waterproofed coated paper or other sheet material. My invention greatly accelerates the formaldehyde waterproofing treatment considered by itself since it will be apparent that the action of formaldehyde gas itself instead of a mere solution of the same in liquid is a more effective agent, and its efficiency is largely enhanced by the fact that it is blown upon thesurface being treated, With some little force, preferably while the surface itself is in motion so that the treatment is expedited by kinetic action.- I have found that in practice a jet of gas no more than one quarter of an inch in width is sufiicient to adequately treat a web of material going past the same at a substantial rate of spee v .For an illustration, I shall describe a process especially adapted to thin and flexible materials, which consists of passing the ma? terial in a continuous strip past a chest from which formaldehyde in the form of gas 'escapes upon its surface. This process of manufacture is illustrated'by the accompanying drawings. requlred manner to the Cheml- Figure 1 is a vertical section, and Fig. 2 a cal action of the formaldehyde. I have plan, both illustrating the process of waterfound that the material can be efi'ectively proofing a roll of thin and flexible material I treated very rapidly in thls'way, the waterb l i formaldehyde gas on the upper Be it known that I, JOHN F. RYAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in Winthrop, in the county of Suflolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes for Making Waterproof Materials and Coatings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in Waterproof materials which contain in their surface composition an insoluble compound resulting from the action of formaldehyde upon certain organic substances.

It has long been known that certain organic substances, when placed in liquid formaldehyde, will so combine with the formaldehyde, or be so afiected by it, as to produce an insoluble solid compound. Various or-' substances have this propcrty, among them, animal glue and casein.

have learned thatwhen any of these adhesives are mixed with other substances and exposed to the action of formaldehyde gas, this will render the whole mixture insoluble, provided the proportion of the adhesive to the whole mixture is suflicient, and I have applied this knowledge to the manufacture of waterproof materials, especially sheets of relatively thin material, such as paper, cloth and cardboard, by coating one or both surfaces of the material with compositions containmg a considerable proportion of any one of the organic adhesives which have in a high degree the property of combining with formaldehyde, and exposing the surface or action of formaldehyde.

y invention consists in a process of treating the same with formaldehyde gas it self instead of'with a liquid solution of the same as has heretofore been proposed and in the preferred embodiment of the invention be described, I show how this is' practicable, by associating a formaldehyde gas treating station with a liquid coating station in such a manner that the web of sheet material being treated is passed with continu: ous movement from the coating machine to the gas treating station whereby the'gasis caused to act upon the same while it is still moist and therefore in condition to besusceptible in the casein,

' the paper issues The gas,- generated in the generator,

side only. Figs. 3 and 4: are longitudinal and transverse vertical sections of the gas chest, illustrating the manner of, applying the formaldehyde gas on both sides of the material at once. Fig. 5 is a cross section ofa sheet of coated material affected by formaldehyde, showing the material and the waterproof coating. i

In the drawings, A reprsents any form of generator for generating formaldehyde gas; B, a pipe leading pward from the generator to a gas chest; the gas chest; D, a slot in the bottom of the gas chest; E, the material in process of waterproofing; F, any coating machine, such as is ordinarily used in coating paper; .G,-any system of drying rolls; H, a funnel for carrying off the gas; 1, a suction fan or other suction device connected'with such funnel; J, in Figs. 1 and 2, steam pipes heating the generator; K, in

Fig. 5, a waterproof coating comprismg the resultant of the reaction of an organic adhesive substance with formaldehyde; and

L, in Fig. 5, a sheet or piece of material bearing such a waterproof coating.

I do not intend to confine myselfto the exact process illustrated, or even to a process su1table only to the waterproofing of thin and flexible materials, ture of the process, to Wit, passing the material near a chest from which formaldehyde gas is escaping, .can be carried out with r gid materials. For purposes t1 0n,, however, I am describing a process carried out with thin and flexible materials capable of being coated by processes in ordinaryuse, because inpractice it is more economical, where a material is to be coated and made waterproof, to ap ly the coating and the formaldehyde gas in one continuous process. In the following description I take, as an example of a thin and flexible mate'- rial, a roll of paper, and describe the process of coating it and making it waterproof by the action of formaldehyde gas. The paper, is shown at the right'of Figs- 1 and 2 in the form of a roll. As it unrolls it passes through the coating machine, which contains a coating composition comprising some organic adhesive. The percentage of organic adhesive in the composition depends upon the 1 adhesive used. With either glue or the adhesive should be at least fifteen per cent. of the total mass of the coating composition.- The paper passes through the coating machine, F, bearing on its upper side a coating of the composition used, an passes from it, by the gas chest, C, to the drying rolls, G. The coating is moist when from the coating machine, and remains moist when it passes by the gas chest, and is therefore more readily susceptible to the action of formaldehyde gas than it would be if it had been allowed to harden. as

pressure or by the use the moist coating of the paper,

heated in any manner as the essential feaof illustramust be means? the gas chest,

C, from which 't escapes either by its .own of blowers or other D, directly upon The gas, the coating composicends by its own pressure to devices, through the slot,

so escaping, acts upon tion and,'by some chemical action the exact nature of which I do not know, but which, for brevity, I call a reaction, produces the waterproof coating.

To begin the foregoing process, the end of the roll is placed by hand in the coating machine, and drawn through it past the gas chest, C, to the drying rolls, Gr. As soon as the paper is engaged by the drying rolls, the process is continued automatically, the paper being unrolled by the movement of the drying rolls and drawn past the gas chest.

If the coating machine used coats the paper on both sides, the process is the same, except, that, instead of one'gas chest, two are used, 0 G, Figs. '3 and 4:, each chest containing a slot, D D, Figs. 3 and 4.

The generator for making the gas may be desired. The coiled 1 and 2, illustrate one steam-pipes, J, Figs.

but any other may be method of heating, used.

If any thin flexible material, other than paper, is desired to be made waterproof the foregoing process can be applied in exactly the manner above described.

T do not consider the coating process .described an essential part of my invention, and any coating process may be used.

With materials which arenot flexible, the process of coating the material and subjecting it tothe action of formaldehyde gas tial feature of the'process will remain the same, to wit, passing the material or its coated surface in close proximity to a. chest from which formaldehyde gas is escaping. This may means, as a moving table on which pieces 0 the material are placed, by whichthey are carried past the gas chest, and from w they are removed after passing by the chest.

lfn order to avoid having the formalde hyde gas fill the room in which the process is being carried on, and also in order to save the gas, it is advisable to have some means of carrying ed the gas that remains after actin on the material or coating made waterproo For this purpose I use a funnel, H, Fig. 1, connected with a suction fan or other suction device. The gas, being lighter than air, rises and is caught by the suctionrby which it ,is drawn either to the 'outer'air or to a'reservolr for collecting it.

Any other method of disposing of the remaining gas may be used,

hich

difl'erent in detail, but the essenbe dneb an a roriate' 0 Y 3 PP P g Instead of generating the gas, it is possi- I ble to supply it directly from a reservoir or pressure ta, and I intend to'include this method of supplfin the claims of my invention.

It is sometimes advisable, by the use of" some means for increasing the pressure of the gas in the chest, or by blowers or other means, to increase the force with which the gas'leaves the slot in the chest and strikes the coated surface of the paper, and on the other hand it is sometimes advisable, by reduction valves or other means, to prevent it from issuing with excessive force. None of I these means are of the essence of my mvention, and I intend to claim the process of making Waterproof material, both with and without their use.

hyde gas upon the same,as it moves past the gas treating station. 7

2. The herein described process which consists in moving material having a component adapted'to be waterproofed by formaldehyde past a gas treatlng station, and

projecting a jet of formaldehyde gas thereupon during the progress of such movement.

3. The herein described process which consists in moving a web of material past a station imparting thereto an organic adhesive substance adapted to combine with formaldehyde, thereafter directing the material past a gas treating station, and 'projecting formaldehyde gas upon the material as it moves past said station.

JOHN F. RYAN.

Witnesses:

FRANK L. SIMPSON, RAYMOND T-. PARKE. 

